Act 6: Your Contract Has Expired: Bad End?
by kirbymanx-huskynator
Summary: In which The Snatcher killed Hat Kid, and asks her soul how her name is pronounced because her soul's at his mercy forever now. Everything up until the 'Your Contract Has Expired' boss level has gone exactly the same. I feel the need to say that.


**Subcon Forest  
Act 6: Your Contract Has Expired: Bad End?**

Hat Kid was put under a lot of stress. First Snatcher dangles his final Time Piece in front of her, and then he ambushes her from behind. The malevolent shadow does all kinds of crazy moves the now hatless kid hasn't seen since that film director had it out for her.

Things collapsing from the ceiling, time bombs, and knives she can handle (okay not the bomb). But beams of fire thicker than her hallway tubes crashing out of the sky like lighting she can only avoid by keeping her face on where this ghoul's eyes are pointed? This was getting hectic.

Not counting that creepy mansion lady, the last time the girl was this scared was… That toilet that apparently had her soul, she had to live with the fact she was a toilet!

"**Too many, eh? Let's try just one!"**

Well… Maybe she'll not have to live with that icky gross fact for long. That barrage of blue potions did a number on her. And he just isn't turning blue!

Wait!

The Snatcher tossed his singular potion, this was her ticket!

But nope! "**Wait, hold on!"** It stopped before it hit the ground… The made Hat Kid wanna pout something fierce! "**That one should totally have hit you!"** How old is he? Hat Kid's age?

The potion loomed over the girl's head, and it just wouldn't shake no matter how much she moved! This was her end! She had one-hit left!

As soon as it dropped down for her noggin', she dived away and laid there for a second. She needed a breath. "**You're kinda rude, aren't you?"** A booming reminder there's only eternal rest waiting for her. She got up to find no potions survived.

And as if that contractor knew when he needed to taunt. He multiplied into a couple of dozen shadowy Hat Kids doing a mocking dance.

"**This is how you look! You're an idiot!"  
**"**This is how you look! You're an idiot!"  
**"**This is how you look! You're an idiot!"  
**"**This is how you look! You're an idiot!"  
**"**This is how you look! You're an idiot!"  
**"**This is how you look! You're an idiot!"  
**"**This is how you look! You're an idiot!"  
**"**And you smell!"  
**"**This is how you look! You're an idiot!"**

She heard near-simultaneously from all directions is a horrible satanic falsetto.

That mustached girl came to mind.

Tried to swat them away but to no use, he hopped out of the way no matter which one she tried to hit.

The master of the forest reformed to his usual state. With more potions! An overwhelming amount! If just one made it!

"Yeah!" Hat Kid shouted. It seems the unblue shadow didn't hear it, as much as he didn't notice the leftover potion. She ran towards it, grateful that the potions' explosions conveniently vaporized its own glass.

But before the girl could get it and throw it at him. The ruler took his minions for another roundabout the arena! This left little time for her to pick it up.

'It's now or never!' She thought, she dived for the potion and threw it at the mean smiling jerkface as he threatened to throw more potions!

Hat Kid had her eyes closed. Having heard hundreds of glass bottles imploding above her she opened them again to see that… _blue on black was a great look on The Snatcher._

The momentum just halted. The shadow needed a moment to pause. He looked at his arms, his tail, his torso. And he saw blue. His eyes widened. He was a little fearful. And Hat Kid noticed that. It gave her hope.

"…"

He stared wide-eyed into her's.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"**Did you just color me blue with my own attack? This can't count, right? Surely this doesn't count?" **He was disbelieving. Hat Kid had to find out for herself if he's vulnerable now. He was scared now. "**That does it, TIME TO **_**DIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!"**_ Oh no! He was more angry than panicky!

Hat Kid was caught off-guard when his panic manifested itself by raining down multiple sky fire beams!

She's dead.

"**THERE!" **He had a quip for when she died, but in his anger he forgot. "**YOU GOT A LOTTA NERVE COLORING ME BLUE, KID!"**

"Master, you gotta calm down! Everyone's watching!" A helpful Subconite shouted.

The Snatcher saw all his subjects still circled around the room and took another good look at his blue-stained arms. The forest's ruler felt embarrassed and frustrated like someone got ink stains on their favorite clothes.

"**Look. Don't make me make a contract for each and every one of you to sign!" **He started speaking as he picked up the kid's corpse. "**Let's pretend this never happened and go about your day doing nothing."** He decreed. "**And you!"** Snatcher pointed his finger at a random Subconite who was caught off-guard. "_**CATCH!" **_He threw Hat Kid's dead ragdoll body into with seemingly more force than all the Mafia Town Mafia have muscle.

"Wowowowow!" The Subconite tumbled along the corpse several meters until he hit a tree. "Ow."

"**Bury her and the deface grave or just cremate her, I don't care! You're all dismissed!"** The shadow blot ordered like a father would ground his kids. They all huddled off. "**Ugh. I need a bath…" **He pulled out the soul of his latest victim at which he frowned hard at. If he had veins this is where one would burst. "**I hate you, Kid… I'm glad you'll be another one of those identical burlap sacks soon…"** He spoke with vemon at the non-corporeal thing that can't understand him… yet. He put the soul away and floated to the nearest source of water to clean and cool off.

Before he tried to rinse himself clean of this blue chemical the Snatcher got curious. He raised his hand, averted his gaze from it to look straight ahead.

He slapped himself and he flashed red in pain. "**Yowza!"** He yelled, scaring off a few of his subjects. He rubbed his cheek. "**Dodged a bullet there… Ooow…I can't tell if she's that clever or if that was just dumb luck. A few more hits and I'd be tasting my own medicine, and that's no fun at all…" **He whispered to himself as not to give anyone any ideas. "**I need to work on my HP, I'm pretty sure someone as lazy as a movie director has more than me, and I should change that… Nah…"** The Snatcher's lazy. "**Who's gonna paint me blue now anyway?"**

Time passed. The Snatcher stitched a burlap sack body ready for the defeated child's soul to inhabit for the rest of her afterlife.

The Snatcher bothered to get dressed for the occasion. He'd grown fond of the top hat he snatched off of the girl's now hollow head. He dug up a matching bowtie too. He kinda liked the getup.

He pulled out the kid's soul and made it sign the contract to be his new subservient Subconite lackey. '**It's more than she deserves.'**

The Snatcher gave the kid no time to get used to the new empty feeling. "**AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"** He laughed at her misery. "**Welcome, Kiddo! Welcome to the rest of your miserable existence stripped off any and all individuality you've had."**

The soul-in-the-sack felt sad. It had been separated from her body, watching it do stupid tasks he didn't let the Subconites do for some reason… At least she doesn't need to do what her body did anyway.

"**Oooh~ You found a bright side, did you?"** The blot spoke conceding at Sack Kid's optimism. "**Let's fix that, shall we!? Ahahaha!" **The Kid braced herself because her master sounded so gleeful.

The Snatcher summoned another contract! Correction: He summoned the contract that he just had stamped mere moments ago.

The shadow monarch tapped his finger at his fresh victim's name. "**I can't make sense of your alien calligraphy, Kid. How are these scribbles pronounced?"** The "client" tilted her head. "**Oh, don't worry, I don't care about your name. I'm just going to commit it to memory SO I CAN NEVER BOTHER CALLING YOU BY NAME EVER AGAIN DESPITE ME KNOWING IT!"**

* * *

All and all Hat Kid felt the usual amount of empty again, got back her body, her soul and her life as good as new. Got back her Time Pieces, her hat plus this sweet bowtie. She became best buds with Snatcher and got full access to Subcon Forest to scooter around in.

And she only haggled and cheated him a little bit.

Plus it was funny seeing Snatcher sprint through his forest searching for the Subconite who buried her body in a sea of Subconites. And then the Subconite speed waddled through the forest trying to remember where the body he had buried mere hours ago was.

Hat Kid was so happy that's she requested that the band Wowl play the most awesome song they've got and thrown a party with Rumbi all the guests on her ship.

There was just one thing she didn't get. And that was the reason why Snatcher let her go.

"**I can't live life knowing the likes of you roam MY FOREST!"** He had said with disgust in his voice.

She isn't complaining, she got her body back and was likely one of a few who survived Subcon Forest.

But what was wrong with her name? Vanessa is a great name!

Jerk.

_**Author's Notes: **_

For some reason, Vanessa is my headcanon name for Hat Kid. Not sure how I came up with it. She just looks like one. And yeah, I know, there is already a Vannesa in the game, but frankly, I forget she exists.


End file.
